Naming conventions are schemes for classifying and/or naming objects. Naming conventions utilize a set of rules for choosing character strings identifying variables, types, options, functions and the like. Standardized naming conventions allow useful information to be more efficiently deduced from the names based on regularities.
Yet, within the same field or industry different naming conventions may be used by various entities to describe the same product and/or product features. While this may not be an issue for some industries, it can cause significant challenges in certain industries when trying to understand and/or make use of data from various sources employing disparate naming conventions for the same product and/or product features.
In the automotive industry, for example, definitions of the vehicle year, make, and model have not been standardized at least in the United States. The automotive industry data is scattered across countries and even continents with hundreds of data providers, many of which have their own definitions of vehicles, as well as styles and/or options that apply to the vehicles—the way data providers define a model, a trim or a style can vary greatly from one data provider to another. Currently, there is no one source of standardized naming conventions for vehicles. Additionally, there is a lack of standardized definitions of vehicle attributes and options, especially for vehicles that are not sold as new.